FED. UP Project Received 3,000 Responses from Higher Education Community

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Howard P. Buck McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, today announced that the FED. UP page on the House Education and the Workforce Committee website has received approximately 3,000 responses from college officials, administrators, and other personnel who operate Americas institutions of higher learning. The web page is part of an effort by the subcommittee to identify needless or overly burdensome regulations and streamline bureaucracy in higher education policy.

I am extremely pleased with the number of responses we have received, McKeon said. The input of those in the college and student financial aid community is invaluable to our efforts to reform these regulations.

We have been evaluating their responses and will likely hold hearings on the proposed changes in the near future. Postsecondary education is vital to the strength of our nation, and this effort will allow us to make the job of educating college students much easier.

In May, McKeon unveiled the project, called Upping the Effectiveness of Our Federal Student Aid Programs, or FED. UP, citing a desire to continue positive efforts to simplify burdensome regulations in the Higher Education Act. Interested parties were given until July 20 to fill out a form on the website and provide any recommendations they had for streamlining regulations.

Officials in the higher education community praised McKeon for his work on the FED. UP project. One appreciative letter from President Peggy Stock of Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT, said, I can’t remember the last time someone asked us what was wrong and how we could make it better.

The Bush Administration has pledged to work closely with Congress as a partner in this effort to relieve some of the regulatory burdens in postsecondary education. Secretary Paige has expressed a willingness to take a new look at how the department administers higher education programs, and I am working closely with him in this endeavor, said McKeon. There is tremendous potential for positive change, and we need to take full advantage of this opportunity.